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Fraktal

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  1. Fraktal

    UFO Extender

    It was originally like that, but from version 1.32 onwards Tycho started pushing an all-or-nothing approach where you either use the Extender the way he wants you, or don't use it at all. First it was putting most new features under a single Apply=1 option, then taking away the choice entirely by hardcoding them into difficulty levels. And ironically enough, the pre-hardcoding versions were far more stable and bug-free than the 1.34 betas he left us with before bailing.
  2. Fraktal

    UFO Extender

    What I meant is that Tycho deliberately took out HWD detection to make the game harder.
  3. Fraktal

    UFO Extender

    I seem to remember that being deliberate.
  4. I know those are easy. What will not be as easy is that I want all terrestrial items to be manufacturable.
  5. Fraktal

    UFO Extender

    I'll give this patcher a try too.
  6. The tech tree above does not include any mechanics not already present in the engine. Even the "item must be in storage before interrogation completes" thing is borrowed from TFTD. FYI, this would also be the mod into which the rocket/blaster mods I mentioned in the Extender thread would go. As well as swapping the accuracy stats for laser and plasma weapons. And making UFO power sources violently explode when shot. And overhauling the in-game Ufopaedia to more accurately describe the aliens' weaknesses. Oh, and switching around UFO speeds: Battleship is the slowest. Even a Skyranger can catch up to it, but only barely. Terror Ship is the next; you now need an Interceptor. Small Scout, Interceptor can still catch it but only barely. Supply Ship, you now need a Lightning. Harvester, Lightning is still enough. Abductor, can narrowly outrun a Lightning but not a Firestorm. Large Scout, Firestorm is good. Medium Scout, Firestorm can catch this too but really needs to haul ass. You might wonder what is the purpose of this. It's so that before you can get advanced craft, the only UFOs you can catch without them landing or slowing down to sweep an area are also the ones you will not have the teeth to take out in a tactical mission. Ergo, the early game is going to be considerably harder.
  7. Where did Tycho disappear to, anyway?
  8. I'm familiar with the feeling. Can't count how many times my Java teacher bitched at me in the past not to hardcode values... I just thought that if Tycho managed to do it, it should be possible.
  9. Assembly is indeed not my strong point. Am I to assume then that the research tree is in an area of the executable that hasn't been deciphered by you guys yet?
  10. Fraktal

    UFO Extender

    Aliens use the same item as you do, so yes. With this, the Blaster Launcher would still be more powerful than the Rocket Launcher, meaning that getting hit with it would still really hurt; it's just that the title of absolute murder machine would go to the Fusion Ball Hovertank now. Regarding the Rocket Tank... should I also give it manual guidance akin to Blaster Bombs on the principle that heavier platform means bigger missile means room for warhead guidance electronics? The handheld Rocket Launcher would still be dumb-fire. And while we're at it... would there be objection against me renaming Fusion Ball Launchers to Fusion Detonators? Just a simple ENGLISH.DAT edit.
  11. After reading about the alternate laser weapon research order in the Extender, I started thinking of what could be done with the research tree and came up with something I feel is pretty good. Problem is, I can't find any resource about where project prerequisites are defined. Neither Ufopaedia's articles on RESEARCH.DAT nor Zombie's executable table are forthcoming with that critical piece of information. The Extender's source code is no help either, as the latest-released version of the source code doesn't have the alternate laser research yet. Can anyone help? In case anyone cares, this is what I'm trying to do (forgot the Hyperwave Decoder, it's immediately after UFO Navigation).
  12. Fraktal

    UFO Extender

    I can confirm that the same bug is present in the newest version. Meanwhile, I keep coming up with more ideas on how to modify the game. At this rate, I might end up actually writing a .dat mod... Anyway, my latest idea is to swap the damage values of the Blaster Launcher and the Fusion Ball Hovertank, as well as crank up the Rocket Tank's damage to that of the Large Rocket, on the basis that a vehicle-mounted weapon should be able to pack more destructive warheads that would realistically be too heavy to be man-portable.
  13. Fraktal

    UFO Extender

    I did read those messages but to be honest, I'm thinking of downgrading back to 1.31.9. I also took a peek into the latest publicly available source code. What's your issue with programming? C++?
  14. Fraktal

    UFO Extender

    Too bad. In the meantime, I came up with a quite more complex tech tree than Tycho's Alternate Research Tree, mostly in the form of requiring a ton of interrogations to get everything. Specifically... Weapon research: interrogating any alien soldier unlocks for research all alien weapons in base stores at the time, except for the Small Launcher. If a weapon is not in stock at the time, you need to get one and interrogate another soldier. Plasma ammunition and blaster bombs require E-115 to be researched first, in addition to the requirement of interrogating an alien soldier. Small Launcher and Stun Bomb require an alien medic instead of a soldier. Armor research: researching Alien Alloys and dissecting a Muton unlocks the Personal Armor. Researching Personal Armor and UFO Power Source, then studying a Sectopod wreck, unlocks the Power Suit. Researching Power Suit and New Fighter Craft unlocks the Flying Suit. Craft research: interrogating an alien engineer unlocks UFO Power Source. Interrogating an alien navigator unlocks UFO Navigation. Interrogating enough alien engineers to acquire all UFO schematics (ie. completely fill out the Ufopaedia's UFO section) unlocks UFO Construction and Grav Shield. The Avenger only becomes available for research once the Cydonia mission is unlocked. Psionics research: researching and using Mind Probes requires dissecting a Sectoid and interrogating a Sectoid leader or commander. Dissecting an Ethereal unlocks the Psi Lab and the Mind Shield, but not the Psi Amp. Interrogating an Ethereal is what unlocks the Psi Amp. Endgame research: Interrogating and dissecting enough aliens to acquire detailed data about them (ie. filling out the Ufopaedia's section on alien lifeforms, with medic interrogations substituting for terrorists that cannot be stunned) unlocks Alien Origins. Interrogating enough alien navigators to acquire detailed intelligence on alien operations (ie. filling out the Ufopaedia's section on alien missions) unlocks The Martian Solution. Interrogating an Ethereal Commander unlocks Cydonia or Bust. So if you want to finish the game, prepare for a long haul How's this?
  15. Fraktal

    UFO Extender

    Do you happen to know which version was the one where Tycho started forcing per-difficulty modifications?
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